A sextant a sextant is a doubly reflecting navigation instrument that measures the angular distance between two visible objects Experienced skipper wavy explains the many functions of a sextant and how to use it out on sea The primary use of a sextant is to measure the angle between an astronomical object and the horizon for the purposes of celestial navigation
Sextant | Royal Museums Greenwich
The estimation of this angle, the altitude, is known as sighting or shooting the object, or taking a sight
A sextant is a navigation instrument used to measure the angles between celestial bodies and the horizon
It works by aligning the index mirror with the celestial body and reflecting its image onto the horizon mirror. Sextant, instrument for determining the angle between the horizon and a celestial body such as the sun, the moon, or a star, used in celestial navigation to determine latitude and longitude. A sextant is an old navigational tool that measures elevation using angular distances You can use a sextant to determine the altitude in the sky of the sun, moon, or other celestial bodies relative to the horizon
You can then use that. A sextant is a doubly reflecting navigation instrument used to measure altitude or the angle between any two visible objects Sextant is one of the oldest navigation instruments used by mariners, its called sextant because its arc is 1/6th of a circle i.e 60° but it can measure angles upto 120° using double reflection principle